Why Can't I Just Be Normal!
by MidnightMica101
Summary: Shoshana just wanted to be normal. But sometimes fate is an asshole. LokixOC. Collab fanfic between Micarocks101 and MidnightShadow101. Rated T because we are paranoid and cursing. We are not responsible for death by laughter of feels. :)
1. Prolouge

**WAZZUP?! This is a collab fanfiction between MidnightShadow101 and Micarocks101! Thanks for reading! Also, we are not to be held responsible for death by laughter or feels. Please comment, we really appreciate reader feedback! ^_^**

**~Shoshana's POV~**

"Why me?! What the hell did _I_ ever do?"

I shouted in frustration as the alien soldiers ran past my hiding spot; a small alley between a coffee house and a donut shop. I would have walked right in and ordered a good cup of coffee and one of those twisty donut things that Grandpa introduced me to, but unfortunately the small shops had been turned to rubble by a couple of aliens with an encyclopedia's worth of anger issues (seriously, those guys needed to see a psychiatrist or something. Also there are 6152 different anger issues in an encyclopedia [Sorry, I blame ADHD.]). Oh, and I also forgot the small detail that those aliens were trying to erase my existence. That might be important.

I sat there in the shadows, hoping they wouldn't find me, and looking back at how this crazy, messed up adventure had started.

Now that I think about it, I don't really know how it started. Maybe it was when I was reading my book. Maybe it was when I went to the party.

Or maybe it was when I decided to tackle a god.


	2. Blue-Eyed Stranger

"But Grandpa, I don't want to go to the party! All those rich, snobby, famous people are so… gah! I can't even talk to them without thinking of those Airhead candies you gave me!" I whined as I walked, no attempted to walk in that pink, tight dress and hellish high heels. Grandpa laughed at my childish pouting, a carefree sound that could make anyone smile.

My Grandpa was probably the best grandpa in the world. Ever since I could remember, he was there, rescuing me from my parents' mansion as often as he could, encouraging me to be myself, playing video games with me (and of course beating me every single time), laughing at my lame jokes, buying me junk food from behind my parents' backs, cheering me up with his heart-warming laugh and kindly smile when I felt sad.

I remember one time he found me crying in my room when I was thirteen, hugging a pillow with my head between my knees on my bed after being rejected by my crush. He said nothing, instead sitting next to me on my bed and giving me a hug, putting Kelly Clarkson's acoustic version of "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" on repeat on my iPod and singing along. With his deep voice, it became a hauntingly beautiful lullaby, one that lulled me to sleep. he sat with me for hours, singing and stroking my caramel-brown hair until I cried myself to sleep.

The next morning I woke up and clumsily went to the bathroom, and what I saw completely shocked me. After a stunned bit of silence, I burst out laughing. My face was covered in random, goofy doodles, swirls, and circles. Above my lip was a crudely drawn mustache in black marker. Around my chocolate-brown eyes were crazy target designs and flowers. Pretty soon I had forgotten all about my crush and was laughing so hard that my sides hurt.

So yeah, best Grandpa in the world.

"Sorry, Shoshana, but your mom and dad insisted. I don't like it either- I'm too used to seeing you in your jeans and T-shirts!- but you're going to have to deal with it." He straightened his own beige jacket and smoothed the wrinkles in his slacks. And then grinned. "if your head will fit through the doorway by the end of the night, maybe we'll play Alien Isolation after."

I perked up immediately, and suddenly the prospect of enduring boring conversations about stocks didn't seem so horrible. At least now there was the light at the end of the tunnel (and I had also snuck a book into my purse). Grandpa had just gotten Alien Isolation and had promised to play the survivor mode with me.

"Oh you are so on! Prepare to get thee butt whipped!" I cried out. He snorted and suddenly poised himself, his chin pointed exaggeratedly high, a pretend frown on his face. Did I mention frequent imitations of my parents were added to his amazing-ness?

"That, young lady, is not the correct use of "thee." Do it again!" He exclaimed with a perfect British accent that masked his usual German one. I cracked a smile and tried to play along, beginning to curtsy but stumbling on my torture device of a dress. We both burst out laughing as we reached the end of the marble stairs leading to the huge, wide-open wooden doors. Inside it was absolutely beautiful *long description of the house that I'm too lazy to write about* I turned to Grandpa and smiled.

"Well, wish me luck."

"Try not to slap a drunk celebrity." He said jokingly. I playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Haha, very funny. You'll be waiting for me outside, right?" I asked.

"Of course."

I smiled and walked through the gigantic double doors.

OoOoOoOoO

"Gah! I can't take this anymore!" I stomped up the marble staircase of the rich person's house, fuming, not even caring where I was going. I just needed a quiet place to sit and read. If you had been there and happened to glance at me, you probably would've seen one of those cartoon storm clouds over my head. I had been doing pretty well, dodging pointless conversations and drunk guys who tried to dance with me, until finally I just couldn't take it anymore.

I had no idea why my parents wanted me to go to this stupid fancy party. They probably wanted me to learn to be a "lady." Being rich and famous painters, they assumed their children would be too, but no such luck. Instead they got me, the tomboy, the gamer, the prankster and trickster, and most importantly to them, the failure of a kid. So they put me in tight uncomfortable dresses and tiny high heels, sending me to party after fancy party, hoping that it would eventually "rub off" on me. But that would never happen if Grandpa had anything to say about it.

I sighed in frustration and plopped down on one of the beautiful chairs on the upper floors, sinking almost an inch in the velvet cushion. My muscles, which had been tense for so long, automatically relaxed as I pulled out my book- one of my personal favorites about Norse mythology.

You can say I was a sucker for mythology. It had always intrigued me, ever since I had listened to the myths about Pandora's jar (yes, it's jar, not a box) from my Grandpa and the story of how Osiris was trapped in a coffin by his brother. Japanese, Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Chinese, it didn't matter. I loved them all.

But... my favorite was definitely Norse. I don't know why. It's just how it was.

"Quite an interesting book you've got there."

I jumped almost three feet in surprise. Not even thinking, I swung my book like a club in front of me, instincts taking over. My blow was blocked by a pale hand.

"Well, that's not very lady-like." A velvety voice said mockingly. I looked up from behind the book, about to yell at him for almost giving me a heart attack, but his appearance took away my words and jammed them back down my throat.

~Loki's POV~

I barely had time to stop an inaccurate drawing of Thor's face from hitting my own as the cover of the book flew forward. Fortunately, I caught it before it had a chance to smack me. I canted a brow.

I was on my way to get the projection of the eye Barton needed to retrieve the iridium when I happened upon this queer mortal girl, reading a book titled Norse Mythology. On the cover was a picture of Thor and Odin battling Frost Giants and cutting off sea serpents' heads, which made me roll my eyes and scowl.

But somehow it interested me. All the books about Norse mythology in Asgard were locked away somewhere in the All-father's room, for our "safety." Probably meaning that he didn't want us to read the books and try to change our futures.

Not that I hadn't already tried breaking in. But the enchantments on the door were too strong, even for me, a master sorcerer, to break.

She peeked out from behind the shield that was her book, and I surveyed her.

She was young, no doubt about that- probably about nineteen or twenty years of age. Her hair was long and wavy, with light from the chandelier reflecting off of the caramel-brown locks. Her eyes- which were wide with shock- were the soft color of melted milk chocolate. Her face was small- compared to the rest of her body- and heart-shaped, with a tan complexion and an almost invisible blush coloring her cheeks. A few freckles were splashed across her nose, but not so many that they took over her whole face (now there's something about mortals that fascinated me- no one on Asgard or Vanaheim or Alfheim had freckles).

In regard to her clothes, her dress was a soft shade of pink, elegantly covering her legs and trailing behind her. The sleeves were simple and short, revealing slender, tan arms. The bodice was drawn in in an Imperial waistline, and below that the skirt consisted of many layers of thin cloth, probably satin by the looks of it.

She was actually quite pretty... for a mortal.

~Shoshana's POV~

My eyes widened, and it took all of my self-control to stop my mouth from falling open in shock.

The man in front of me could very well be the most handsome man I had ever seen. Which was saying a lot, since my house was covered in paintings and statues of hot guys.

The first thing I noticed were his eyes. They were electric blue, with seemingly every shade of cyan and aquamarine swirling around endlessly within them. His hair was pitch-black and slightly long for a guy, slicked back with a few edges sticking out from behind his neck; the dark color offered stark contrast with his pale-as-parchment skin. The features of his face seemed harsher, sharper somehow than the average person, but not unpleasantly so.

Handsome or hot really weren't the words I would use to describe him, although my friends would probably beg to differ. He was kind of... beautiful, in a way. Like his face had been carved for a Greek god. Regal, angelic, and devious at the same time. He held himself with enough careless grace that it made me want to straighten up. It was unreal, almost inhuman, how he seemed to command a room's attention; just his presence drew every eye to him.

His clothes were quite elegant- a sleek black suit and coat, with a long green-and-gold silk scarf. The look was completed by his cane (he was way too young to need to use a cane) which was made of gold and silver and was set with a... was that a real sapphire?

Whatever it was, it seemed to glow, pulsate with a kind of energy that I couldn't explain if you asked me.

The man seemed to have been staring at me as intensely as I had been staring at him, but then he quickly gained his composure and smirked.

"Enjoying your book?" He took it from me, turning it over in his hands with something akin to distaste on his face. He had said the statement with the air of delivering an ironic pun.

"Uh...um...yeah." I stuttered out, mentally cursing myself. My speech capabilities seemed to have shorted out. What the hell was wrong with me?

He opened the cover and flipped through the pages, smiling, amused somehow. Whether it was with my dismal communication skills or with the story, I don't know.

"Who's your favorite?" His lip curled. "Thor?"

His question caught me off-guard, and for a moment I was tempted to confirm his guess because it would take less talking to do so (and right now I could barely speak in complete sentences), but somewhere in my brain something clicked and I corrected him. "Loki, actually."

My answer seemed to catch him off-guard. He looked up and stared at me, disbelief flickering across his face. "What?"

"Well, yeah," I shifted, slightly uncomfortable with his intense gaze. "Everybody says he's the bad guy, but... he seems kind of... misunderstood to me."

He had his mask of passivity back on, and so now, when he spoke, it was in a completely neutral tone of voice. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, first of all, he was taken from his native home as a child. Even if he was too young to even remember his home, that's gotta wreak havoc on his subconscious. The Frost Giants and the Asgardians are natural enemies; there's going to be something in his blood that sets him apart from others." Great. Now I was rambling. "So when he grows up and everybody is mad at him for being different, including his father who knew about his past... I mean, what a jerk move, you know what I mean?"

"Very much so." He was still looking at me like that, like I was an anomaly.

"And then when he grows up and learns about his past, naturally there's going to be some sort of strife between him and and his family, not to mention all of the bitterness and jealousy towards Thor... and, I may be an only child, but I bet it sucks being the second born prince- who's so different from a normal Asgardian- and to have that as an older brother. Seriously. He's all Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, and everybody just looks down on Loki." I shook my head, pausing and then laughing nervously. "Sorry, I've just been ranting-"

"Don't be sorry." He assured me. I looked up in surprise. "I actually agree with you. Finally, someone intelligent that doesn't just see Thor as the natural good guy."

"Well, I'm actually kind of shocked that other people don't see Loki's problems. I mean, it's always been so obvious to me. And, looking at all of his differences and stuff, I know he's my favorite character."

Silence.

And then,

"Gods of Asgard, and to think that I wouldn't find any intelligence in this country."

I laughed at his use of Norse mythology, but he sounded dead serious. "Surprising, right?"


	3. A Reindeer Tried To Kill My Grandpa

~Loki's POV~

This girl...

This _mortal girl_...

Outside, I acted like I didn't care. But deep down, in a place where pride did not exist, her words hit home, sending me reeling. I had never heard someone sound so... caring. Well, maybe besides Frigga. But this girl... she didn't even know that Loki, the God of Mischief and Lies even _existed_, much less was right in front of her, and she was sitting here expressing sympathy for him to who she thought a total stranger.

_Loki, I need the eye to get in. What's taking so long?_ Barton's voice echoed in my head. I had completely forgotten about the task at hand until he had reminded me. Hesitantly, I responded.

_I ran into a bit of trouble. Keep waiting, I'm almost done._

"I must take my leave now. I have business to attend to." I told her and turned to leave, but she caught me by the shoulder and I turned my head to look back at her. She had a childish pout on her face, her lips curled into a small frown and her eyes wide with innocence.

"Why? You're the only guy I've met all night that's not drunk, much less actually intelligent! A little longer? Please? It can't be _that _important." She complained. I hesitated, but calmly removed her hand from my shoulder.

"Sorry, but it _is_ 'that important'. Hopefully we meet again soon." I said and walked down the stairs, but paused and turned back to her. "By the way, I never got your name."

She smiled wide.

"Shoshana."

~Shoshana's P.O.V.~

Great.

The only man with a brain in this entire house had left. Just my luck.

I put down my book, reluctant to read after my conversation (which was definitely a first, considering that my conversation was with a guy).

I felt disappointed that he had to leave. I couldn't deny that.

Then again, I refused to believe that I had a crush on a guy that I had just met. For the sake of my pride, I _wouldn't _believe that.

It wasn't possible. No way. _Nein_.

Shaking my head, I placed my book back in my purse, mulling it over in my brain. Other people just might ignore irrational emotional swells, but Grandpa taught me a long time ago that it was better to face them head on than try to hide them.

_Grandpa._

This is where I mentally kicked myself. I could talk to Grandpa about all of this! I trusted him with all of my secrets, ever since... well, since I was _born_, I guess. I can't believe that it took me so long to figure it out.

Suddenly, there was a loud, collective gasp of shock from downstairs. And then there was a ton of screaming, and not all of them sounded like women.

Of course, being the very intelligent person that I was, I curiously headed down the staircase, and was met with the bizarrest sight I had ever seen (and that's saying something, considering that my parents painted all sorts of weird things).

The guy that I had just talked to three minutes ago was surrounded by a ring of people while he loomed over a guy that was laying down on a marble table, kicking and flailing. The audience was doing the screaming, staring at the two in horror.

The raven-haired man was rather calm, simply standing there and watching the others with what looked like _amusement _as some of them fled the building and others just dropped in a dead faint.

I was way too curious at this point to do the sensible thing and run away screaming my head off with the other party-goers. I pushed against the tide of the crowd to get a better look.

Okay, now I wasn't very acquainted with the famous people at this party, but I was _pretty sure _that the guy laying down on the marble table was the museum curator, and I don't know much about the human anatomy, but I was _pretty sure _that most people don't have large, metal, spider-like machines attached to their left eyes.

I mean, I'm just guessing here.

And then I kicked myself (for the second time that day!) and thought, _Why the hell is there a large, metal, spider-like machine attached to his left eye?! _

I looked closer and froze in shock. It seemed like my mysterious stranger was actually _holding the large, metal, spider-like machine to his left eye, seemingly drilling it out._

One of my biggest WTF moments.

And then things managed to get even weirder.

The man let go of the museum curator, who went limp (unconscious; or, at least I _hope _he was unconscious) and then started to walk out of the building.

But that's not the weird part.

I finally unfroze and followed the crowd, screaming my head off and running in no particular direction.

But that's not the weird part either.

The weird part was when his appearance flickered and suddenly he was wearing armor and a huge helmet that...okay, I'm just going to go right out and say it. He looked like he was a reindeer.

The thought almost made me burst out into hysterical giggles, but that would probably make me look insane.

Still.

_All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call me names, AND SO I KILLED THEM ALL._

Okay, I don't think I took my ADHD medicine today.

Back to the situation at hand.

I finally gathered enough sense in my head to enable myself to run out of the building, following the crowd.

Tall, dark and reindeer had his back to me, and he was facing a huge audience of people, all of which were trying to get to their cars without attracting attention. I joined them, and suddenly my heart was frozen in fear for my Grandpa.

_Grandpa._

"Grandpa!" I screamed out at the top of my lungs, frantically searching through the surge of people.

I saw a flash of his beige jacket and heard him call back. "Shoshana!"

Damn, if I sounded as worried as he did at that moment, then I wasn't as level-headed as I thought I was.

I glimpsed his face through all the people, and was about to run over to him and give him a hug and start sobbing like a two-year-old girl when _the raven-haired reindeer man appeared right in front of me._

I swear to God my voice went two octaves higher.

Not one of my proudest moments. I screamed like a two-year-old girl during a temper tantrum and fell back on my butt, losing sight of Grandpa in the process.

And then there were _three other raven-haired reindeer men _(Oh, joy), creating a four-cornered square around the entire crowd.

If I wasn't having a panic attack, I would've appreciated how much thought went into this attack. The completely blatantly obvious way he sprung an advance on us caught us so off-guard that we didn't stand a chance. I think Grandpa told me once that humans completely dissolve into chaos when they don't have someone to lead them.

Well, no one was standing up and taking charge. The police themselves just got blasted to bits with his scepter.

Oh God. His _scepter. _The thing I had mistaken for a cane (hey, he really looked the British gentleman part) was now a two meter long spear-like thing with a wicked tip, not to mention containing the ability to shoot blasts of blue light at things.

A scowl flashed across the man's face. "I said," He said quietly then slammed his scepter against the ground and yelled. "KNEEL!"

As one, we slowly kneeled. The way he talked just seemed to take over our brains and force us to do his bidding. As soon as I was on my knees, though, I grew irritated with myself. _Am I that susceptible?_

It might have been the wisest choice anyway. After all, now that we were all properly down and on the ground, he smiled and looked so incredibly pleased with himself that you might have thought that he had just been named supreme ruler of the universe.

And then it clicked.

_"Who's your favorite character? Thor?"_

_"Don't be sorry. I actually agree with you."_

_"Finally, someone intelligent that doesn't just see Thor as the natural good guy."_

_His face when I explained Loki's character_

_Golden reindeer helmet._

_Scepter._

_Old timey way of talking._

_Norse-style armor._

I kicked myself for the third time that day.

Oh God. (Or should I say gods?) This guy was _Loki. _

But how could that be? It was impossible; Loki was just a myth, a deity created by the Norse to complete their mythology.

_Well, clearly not, Shoshana! _My rational side scolded me. (I have a rational side?) _Because he's standing right in front of you!_

Meanwhile, he started talking.

"Is this not better?" He asked, still with that smug smile. I resisted the urge to stand up and just smack it off, god or not. "Is this not your natural state of being?" Here, he held out his staff in front of him and the crowd automatically parted. He walked through us. "It is the great, unspoken truth of humanity- that you _crave _subjugation. Your day-to-day activity diminishes your life's joy in a mad _scramble _for power. In the end, you will always kneel."

Okay, if I wanted to smack him before, it was _nothing _compared to how I felt now. I felt like getting up, wrenching his scepter right from his hand and hitting him all the way to America.

_I was attracted to this guy?_

_I have such weird taste._

_Yeah, power-hungry, dominating, and insane- _totally _my type._

_You forgot that he likes reindeer helmets._

Okay, definitely off the meds today.

Apparently, rebellion ran in my blood, because my Grandpa seemed to be having the same thoughts that I was (well, omitting the part about my guy problems [or not really guy problems]). And he actually _did _stand up.

Loki's attention was immediately drawn to him, and his eyes narrowed slightly, like, _Why in Helheim is this puny, old, mortal standing up to an all-powerful god like me?_

Okay, those probably weren't his actual thoughts, but you know what I mean.

"Not to men like you." He said levelly, looking Loki straight in the eye (an impressive accomplishment, considering that the guy was a god with a giant, oversized candle that blew stuff up).

I felt like applauding, but Loki just chuckled. "But there are no men like me."

Idiot. I smiled. He just set himself up. He didn't know my grandpa like I did- never without a comeback.

"There are always men like you." Grandpa retorted.

My laugh crawled back into my throat to die and my eyes widened as Loki raised his staff and pointed it at him, the tip glowing like an unearthly candle.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example." Loki smiled devilishly and aimed.

My blood roared in my ears as I saw Grandpa's brown eyes- identical to mine- widen in fear and horror, and I knew that the god relished that fear because that made him feel powerful, it made him feel in control.

And it's that that drove me over the edge.

_I'm so going to regret this_. I thought as my legs moved with a mind of their own.

It all happened in an instant.

I charged at Loki.

His eyes widened.

I tackled him to the ground, his staff flying from his hand and clattering on the ground somewhere nearby, a blast of blue light exploding from the tip and sailing into the sky like a firework.

And then it got very awkward, considering that I was on top of the guy that had just been threatening my grandpa two seconds ago (also taking into account that this was a super-hot god... yeah, it was pretty awkward [like, crickets in the background awkward]).

I quickly rose to my feet (and I was definitely not blushing- not one bit) and grabbed the staff, clutching it to my chest to keep it away from him.

At first, the look of shock on his face was so palpable that I felt like bursting into hysterical giggles again.

Huh. Maybe I have a power complex too.

He recovered quickly, though. As soon as he noticed me holding the staff, he snarled, almost like an animal.

It terrified me.

I finally realized why people were scared of Loki. But somehow, despite the fact that I had just stolen a sacred relic from a very angry god and said god was advancing on me like a feral wolf...I still felt a little sympathy. He glared at me and rose to his feet.

"Give me the scepter. _Now._" He said, his voice dangerously calm. I gulped in fear but attempted to put on a brave face.

"No! I won't let you hurt Grandpa!" I shouted in response, but there was obvious fear in my voice.

"I do not wish to hurt the only intelligent person on this stupid planet. Give me the scepter, and I'll let you and your Grandfather walk away from this." He glowered back, and I have to admit that this guy was really amazing at giving evil looks.

And the one that he shot me now was enough to make me want to crawl into a hole in hide.

But my anger kept my fear in check; drowned it out. I snapped. He said it as if Grandpa was no more than a bargaining chip, just an item to get what he wants. Anger surged through me. _No one_ talked that way about my family. I didn't give a damn if he was a god. _No one._

"Like hell you will!" I shouted at him. I didn't even think about the words coming out of my mouth; all my thought were clouded by anger. "You're the god of lies! Why should I believe you?"

He stood there for a second. His face was contorted with anger, but there was also something else. Was that...hurt? No way. He was the god of mischief and lies. Something like that coming from a human wouldn't even faze him.

But still... my previous words came back to me.

"_And, looking at all his differences and stuff, I know he's my favorite character."_

I cringed.

~Loki's POV~

Forget what I said earlier.

She was no different than all the rest.

Her brave words before were worth nothing.

Ha. Before she had been criticizing all those who had criticized me for being what I was- different, the god of mischief, the god of lies- and then she goes and joins my demons.

What irony. And to think that I thought that she was worth my time... the idea was laughable now.

But... no, she flinched, as soon as she had spoken. Hesitated. And was that... regret in her eyes?

No. I can't start thinking about this.

_She has your scepter. _I reminded myself.

I could set her on fire (maybe I wouldn't do that) or smack her upside the head (she was annoying enough for me to do that) to make her drop my scepter. She was frozen in fear; now would be the best time to strike. I ran toward her.

_SLAM._

I reeled backward, holding my head in slight pain. Someone had dropped right in front of her before I could reach her, but whoever it was was hidden behind a strange red, white, and blue shield with a star in the center. Shoshana was staring, her mouth gaping open, at the figure, obviously recognizing him.

"C-Captain America?"


	4. Starch Man Likes Dubstep

**(Since this is a collab fanfiction between Micarocks101 and MidnightShadow101, the author's note has both of them!)**

**Micarocks101: OHMIGARD GOMENASAI WE'RE SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!**

**MidnightShadow101: *blinks* We are?**

**Micarocks101: *facedesk***

**Loki: I don't believe that is very good for your health.**

**Micarocks101: *glares at Loki* Shut up, Reindeer.**

**MidnightShadow101: O.o *backs up slowly* Um...Enjoy the chapter...?*runs like hell away from angry Loki***

~Shoshana's POV~

Oh God oh God oh God oh God- wait, what the hell was I saying? Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods...

My Grandpa has talked so much about him, and here he was, right in front of me. Wearing that skin-tight star-spangled uniform (I never understood why superheroes wore that stuff) just like he was in his collectible trading card.

And his shield. Gods, that thing had just stood its ground against a blow from a Norse _god _and it wasn't even scratched!

I bet Grandpa was having a mini fanboy-attack right now.

I briefly entertained the mental image of Grandpa fainting and gasping and hyperventilating and…

… I blame ADHD… (Gods, why hadn't I taken those pills this morning?)

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everyone else..." Of course he had time to deliver a cliched hero line. "...we ending up disagreeing." Here he paused. "Not this time."

"The soldier." Loki's voice was full of contempt. He quickly rose to his feet and the two began to fight. They were so fast I couldn't even make out their movements unless I slowed it all down in my brain and watched with two-minute jet-lag. Suddenly Loki turned to me and scowled, but he looked more annoyed than anything else, like _Oh, you had to steal my scepter right when I have to fight a good guy. You have such utterly _impeccable _timing, Shoshana._

Add a British accent (Why did Norse gods have British accents?) to the whole thing and I could actually believe that he was thinking that.

The fight was unlike anything I had ever seen before. I mean, I had watched a ton of action movies and dramas with Grandpa over the weekends when we would marathon our favorite TV shows or series but nothing compared to this. And I had a front row seat, holding onto the scepter of a _freaking Norse god._

The fight actually seemed to be going to Loki. Captain Popsicle was getting his butt handed to him, even with his air support.

Did I forget to mention the air support?

There was a giant freaking plane in the air, with a machine gun attached to it and speakers that blared out a single command in a woman's voice: "LOKI, DROP THE WEAPON."

After hearing that, he just looked around at everybody and rolled his eyes, raising his hands to the heavens as if saying, _Where do you see a weapon in these hands? Would you like me to cut off my arms?_

But then some random dubstep song replaced the commands, making it sound like this: "LOKI, DROP THE- _DROP THE BASS!"_

The look on his face was so _freaking hilarious _that this time I really did want to fall down, and laughed out loud.

And then,

_Why is there some random dubstep song replacing the commands of the scary military plane?_

I looked up and gasped.

You would've thought that with all I had been through that day, nothing would've been able to surprise me. But _no, _apparently the world has some sort of vendetta against me to prove me wrong on every point I try to prove right, so _of course _it _had _to send in a flying man wearing freaking red and gold armor armed with missiles and other dangerous projectiles.

What was his name? Steel Man?

No, it was something like... Wash Man! Or Dry Man! Or Starch Man! Or...

...Iron Man! Yeah, that's it.

Together, they slowly gained ground until Loki had fallen to the floor, his back to the steps of the mansion.

Iron Man (am I the only one that thinks he sounds like a guy who's supposed to iron your clothes?) held up his hands, and the missiles and other dangerous projectile weapons primed themselves. His voice came out garbled from within the helmet of his armor."Make a move, reindeer games."

_He stole my joke!_

Loki slowly put his hands in the air and his armor and stupid helmet faded away, a wisp of green smoke the only evidence that it had existed.

But then he turned ever-so-slightly and shot me a look, eyes boring into mine, and I felt like he was _seeing into my soul._

Okay, it was official. I have been watching way too much Doctor Who.

But seriously, the way he was looking at me made me want to crawl into a hole and hide. I instinctively tightened my grip on the scepter.

"Good move." Iron Man lowered his hands and his weapons stored themselves back into his multiple armor compartments.

Meanwhile, the plane had landed, and the woman spoke again: "GET HIM IN HERE, BOYS. LET'S GET OUT OF HERE."

"She really needs to turn down the volume." Iron Man muttered, and hauled Loki away.

Me? I was a little suspicious, actually. I mean, I know that he was facing two extremely skilled good guys, but wasn't the fight a little too fast? It kind of looked like Loki was... not really trying.

Hey, maybe I'm just reading into it too much, but those are my speculations.

"Ma'am? Could you please give me that scepter?"

I started, and then suddenly realized two things: 1) Captain America was addressing _me _and 2) I was still holding the scepter. "Oh… oh, yeah… sure…" I muttered and held out the long end of the scepter so he could take it. He took it and tugged.

The scepter didn't budge.

**Micarocks101: Duh duh duh! Not expected, right? :D I'd never seen anything like that in other Loki fanfiction, so voila! Also I had to think of an excuse for Shoshana to meet Loki again… =3=**

**MidnightShadow101: *rolls eyes* You mortals are so amusing.**

**Micarocks101: Yeah, I-*blinks* Wait, did you just-**

**MidnightShadow101: *ignores Micarocks101* Please leave a review, follow, or favorite. Otherwise a Bilshnipe will come and eat your computer.**

**Micarocks101: *tackles MidnightShadow101* TAKE ME TO ASGARD!**


	5. A Godly Weapon Is Super-Glued To My Hand

**Micarocks101: WE KEEP FORGETTING TO UPDATE WE'RE SO SORRY! . **

**MidnightShadow101:*rolls eyes but smiles* Enjoy the chapter.**

**Micarocks101: *runs up to MidnightShadow101 holding a piece of paper* Look! It's the rights to the Avengers movie! :D *wind takes paper out of hands and carries it away* ...Oops.**

**MidnightShadow101: *glares at Micarocks101* We don't own the Avengers. I GET IT.**

The scepter didn't budge.

"Huh? What the hell?" I said worriedly, confusion riddled across my and Captain America's face. By now my nerves were completely shot.

He tugged harder but only succeeded in pulling me so hard I lost my balance and fell face-first on the ground. I immediately jumped to my feet, not even caring that my dress and face were both covered in dirt.

"Huh?! What's going on?!" I cried out and started running in circle like a chicken with its head cut off. I was officially in full panic mode. I vaguely heard Captain America telling me to calm down, but it sounded as if he was on the other line of a phone.

~Captain America's P.O.V.~

Tony whistled, not a flirting whistle, but a 'wow' whistle, as Agent Romanoff described it. He sounded both slightly disturbed and slightly impressed (we didn't know it yet, but the girl tended to have that effect on people).

"Damn. That girl's all over the place." He said and walked right up to her calmly.

"What are you-"

_SLAP._

My eyes widened as Tony pulled his hand away, leaving a very shocked girl with a red mark on her cheek staring at him with wide brown eyes, looking totally speechless (which was an accomplishment, considering that she had just been screaming her head off a few seconds ago).

"Good. She calmed down." He said, sounding very bored.

I stomped over to him, thoroughly ticked off. "What are you thinking, Tony?! You can't just walk up the a woman and slap her!" I yelled at him.

"Watch me." He then slapped me.

"Haha, very funny. We have more important things to deal with right now." I turned to the girl and lowered my voice to a calm undertone, attempting the voice that mental health counselors use when talking to their patients. "Ma'am, I know you're scared, but I really need the scepter. Please let go of it." She stared at me, her eyes filled with panic.

"I-I can't."

I blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"I can't let go of it! It's stuck to my hand! I just spent a whole minute running in circle and waving my arms around like a maniac! How did you not notice that?" She yelled at me.

I backed up a little, slightly unaccustomed to the actions of modern-day women. Back in the day during World War II, women would never even _think _of shouting angrily at someone.

Well, except maybe Sharon.

After a _very _long time of soothing speech, I finally got her to calm down enough to speak in a non-extremely-high-pitched-and-panicked voice.

"I'm really sorry, ma'am, but I think you'll have to come with us. We need that scepter, and since it looks like you can't let go of it, well..." I trailed off, letting my silence explain the rest of it.

She stood there for a while, probably struggling to think of a loophole good enough to convince me to let her stay in Germany, but she sighed and then slowly nodded.

~Shoshana's POV~

"Yeah... I'll come."

I didn't like it, but I figured I had no choice. Usually I was great at figuring out loopholes; not today. My nerves were shot. My brain had been murdered. I felt like the one time I had spent a full six hours on tumblr: exhausted and restless at the same time.

I followed Captain America and Iron Man and Loki into the plane. Looking back over my shoulder one more time, I hesitated, but then I continued my walk to what seemed like a very bleak place. The door began to close behind us.

"_Shoshana!_"

My eyes widened and I whipped around in a heartbeat.

Grandpa was just outside the closing door, waving desperately to get my attention as he hobbled towards the plane. It broke my heart to see him like that- I knew his leg had never healed up since World War II.

Oh my gods, I had completely forgotten about him! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

I pushed past Iron Man, actually, Tony, as Captain America called him. who stumbled with a surprised "Hey!" (which I ignored and felt a savage surge of pride at my hindering him) and ran towards the closing door.

But I was a second too late.

The door shut in my face and I stumbled to a stop to avoid slamming my face into the steel and breaking my nose (breaking your nose is unadvised and not beneficial towards your health!). I banged on the window, my panic coming back anew.

"Come on! Open, you stupid door!" I yelled in frustration. I felt the floor tilt underneath my feet as the plane took off (driven expertly by a red-haired woman). The momentum gave me vertigo, and I stumbled and lost my footing, landing on my butt. I felt Captain America's hand on my shoulder as tears came to my eyes, and he was probably saying something to calm me down. (Fear my panic attacks. Fear them greatly.) But I pushed his hand away roughly and scrambled to my feet, feeling my heart swell with dread.

"We have to go back! My grandpa is still down there!"

"What's going on?" Tony headed over to where I was throwing my temper tantrum, looking bored.

"My grandpa is down there!" I snapped at him. He didn't flinch.

"How inconvenient. You don't have someone to hold your hand while you whimper and freak out." He rolled his eyes and turned to the red-haired woman. "You better put this plane down, Natasha. We have a serious problem over here."

My eyes burned with furious tears. "You asshole! You don't know what he means to me!"

"Should I be touched or skeptical?"

I glared at him, and, as if responding to my rage, the tip of the scepter glowed with unearthly light.

This time he backed up.

Not even thinking, I pointed it at him, my hands shaking.

"Woah. calm down. Put the magical glow stick of destiny down." He said, an edge of fear in his voice. I climbed to my feet and tightened my grip around the scepter to stop my hands from shaking.

"No! Not until I know that Grandpa is going to be safe!" I yelled at him, my resolve steeled. The scepter felt familiar in my hand, as if I had yielded it many times before, but I knew that really, I hadn't.

Woah. Deja vu.

For a little while everyone was silent, and then;

"I advise you do what she wants if you want to survive. It seems that the 'magical glow stick of destiny' quite likes her."

All eyes turned to Loki, who was boredly twirling a green wisp of smoke that looked like a snake between his fingers. I glared at him. My nerves were still shot all to hell, but somehow a crazy idea formed in my head.

"You! This is your fault, right? Get this scepter off me!" I yelled at him and pointed the scepter at him instead. He didn't even flinch, which for some reason that ticked me off even more. He spoke calmly, not an ounce of fear in his velvety voice.

"I'm not the one you should be pointing that at."

I glared at him, not moving myself or the scepter an inch.

"Ironing Man, Tony, whatever your name is, you can fly, right? Make sure my Grandpa is going to be safe and in exchange I won't blow this whole ship up with this…thing." I said dangerously calm, not taking my eyes off Loki the whole time. He steadily met my gaze, completely unwavering, but I didn't look away. The scepter seemed to be giving me confidence, sending a strange warmth throughout my body. How I didn't know. And honestly, right now I didn't really care.

Loki smirked. "If you blow the ship up, you'll die right along with the rest of us."

"I have a feeling this thing will protect me. You, on the other hand, won't be so lucky." Alright, now I was bluffing. I had no idea if the scepter would do, protect me or try to kill me, and I had no idea if gods like him could even _die _(even if he couldn't, I had a feeling that a ship blowing up in his face wouldn't feel too good) but my bluff seemed to work.

After a long silence, the red-haired woman, Natasha, spoke.

"Tony, go get her Grandpa. Bring him somewhere safe and tell him that his granddaughter will be fine . Once you've done that, catch up with us."

Tony scowled and nearly protested, but at one murderous look from Natasha he opened the hangar door and flew away.

I shakily lowered the scepter, instantly feeling like the threat had gone away.

"Are you sure he's going to be alright?"

The red-haired woman, Natasha, shrugged. "As long as he doesn't stop to flirt with any random women, yeah, I think so." She gave me a grudgingly respectful glance. "Nice handling that, by the way; it's what I would've done."

I wasn't sure if I should be reassured or worried, but I let out a sigh of relief anyways. Without a word, I plopped down next to Loki on the bench.

Captain America shot me a worried look, but said nothing. Loki glanced over at me and raised an eyebrow, as if asking a question, but remained silent as well. It remained that way, an awkward silence that hung so thick in the air you couldn't cut it with a knife. The only slightly interesting thing that happened was Tony returning. He sensed the heavy atmosphere, and for once in his life, he was completely silent.

**MidnightShadow101: Sorry the ending's kind of lame. We got writer's block at the end.**

**Micarocks101: I've heard that there's a magical box beneath this story. If you type in a review and then click "Post review", it makes the authors of this story very happy! :D**


	6. I Should Have Worn A Seat Belt

**Micarocks101: *facedesk* SCHOOL. WHY DO YOU KEEP ME AWAY FROM MY PRECIOUS WRITING. T^T**

**MidnightShadow101: Oh, stop complaining. You're writing now, aren't you? XD**

**Micarocks101: T^T *emo corner* Says the one who gets A's...**

I will look back at this time in the future and either roll my eyes, smile fondly, groan and hide my face, or blush four different shades of crimson.

Most of the time I will go with the last action.

Anyway, on the scary military plane, the last you heard of me I was sitting on the bench next to our favorite Norse trickster god, and everyone (including Tony [Shocking, I know]) was completely silent, which didn't make it any less awkward.

I was staring at my hands, trying not to feel queasy. Yeah, I know, my first problem should probably be the fact that I was technically being kidnapped and that there was an Asgardian relic super-glued to my hand, but right now the only thing I could focus on was my churning stomach.

Flying really wasn't my thing.

And, of course, being so preoccupied, I forgot to put my seatbelt on.

When the plane hit the first wave of turbulence, I fell out of my seat and onto the floor.

I heard of snort of laughter hastily disguised as a cough from behind me, and I looked irritably at Loki. A thin hand was placed over his mouth to hide his smile.

"Oh, shut up." I got back to my feet and shot him an annoyed look as I sat down again. "Just because- eep!"

The plane hit another spot of turbulence and I was thrown sideways.

Right into the lap of the god sitting beside me.

To this day, I'm terrified that a picture of me sitting in his lap (looking undoubtedly horrified) will show up in some preschool and the teacher will pull out her long stick, point at it, and say, "And this, children, is why we always wear our seatbelts in military planes carrying dangerous villains!" (Well, not really, but you know what I mean.)

Back to the situation at hand.

My eyes widened in mortification, and he looked rather surprised too. I felt my face burn and turn scarlet.

"Uh, sorry..." I placed my hand on his chest to try and push myself away.

The ship rocked again, way worse than before, and I instinctively fisted his clothes to keep from falling again, a small whimper escaping my mouth. I didn't like flying, and I absolutely _hated _storms.

Apparently, he was so shocked that he didn't even have the brainpower to shove me off of him, because he froze. The plane lurched, and my head fell perfectly against the crook of his neck.

"Gods, gods, gods..." I muttered to myself, torn between both actions of putting as much space between us as physically possible and the urge to hold onto him tighter because of my fear of thunder.

I could hear his heart hammer against his collarbone, and I couldn't help but notice how his grip tightened so much on his seatbelt that his knuckles turned white.

"Scared of lightning?" I asked, that being the only thing I could think of at the time.

He looked down at me slightly, our faces mere centimeters apart. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

But there was that feeling again, that _wrongness _with the way the words fit together.

I had a feeling that this wasn't the whole truth to his erratic heartbeat.

But with him, I guess I would never get the whole truth.

**~Loki's POV~**

I'll admit it: I was lying again. (Damn, this girl really tended to make me do that. Maybe it was because she asked all the right questions.)

Anyway, I was growing increasingly alarmed with the rate at which the storm was growing (which also attributed to my heartbeat, but that wasn't all of it) and was starting to doubt some of my initial predictions about Thor and Odin.

There was a heavy thump on the roof of the plane, and everyone looked up.

_So, Lord Odin found another way to transport Thor to Earth. _I braced myself for the door to be smashed open.

"What's wrong?" Shoshana was examining my face closely.

I looked down at her, noting the slight blush in her cheeks. "You might want to get off my lap now. I think that I'm about to be hurled from this plane."

Her eyes barely had time to crinkle in confusion before the door was torn right off its hinges.

The rest of the crew- the red-haired woman, Captain America, Mr. Never-Without-A-Comeback, and Shoshana- turned towards the sound.

There was Thor, in all of his godly glory, his hair whipping around his face in the wild wind, and I could tell that he was attempting to glare me to death.

However, his eyes dropped to Shoshana (did I mention that she was still sitting in my lap?) and his stony expression changed to a "what-the-hell-is-this" one so fast that it was almost comical.

He recovered quickly though (I was impressed) and ran forward. Shoshana had the good sense to jump off of me, and Thor ripped me from the harness (he always was a gentle sibling), carrying me by the neck from my seat and jumping out of the plane with me still in his grip.

**~Shoshana's POV~**

It was official- I have the absolute worst luck in the world.

I would name all the unfairness that the earth had inflicted upon me in the last few hours, but that would take forever so I'll just name the most recent: when Major Armstrong came and stole our god, the momentum from him using our plane as a launchpad caused me to slide out the open door.

And then I was screaming, screaming louder than I had ever screamed before (even louder than the time my Grandpa had put a real, live, snake in my bed, but I digress) and free-falling through the air.

Please understand. I am not a scaredy-cat. But I did hate heights. And I hated storms. And I hated flying.

So naturally, when I fell from a flying vehicle from a formidable height into a storm, I started to freak out.

I clenched my eyes shut and felt my entire body shaking, and I tightened my grip on the scepter- _the scepter!_

_I completely forgot! _My eyes flew open, and I tried to focus. _Concentrate, Sho, concentrate..._

I imagined channeling all of my fear into the staff, remembering how it had responded to my anger before, and before I knew it, I felt like I had fallen into the eye of the storm.

The winds around me slowed down, until I was in my own little bubble of warm air, descending slowly.

I could have thrown a party right then and there (CONGRATULATIONS ON NOT DYING BY FREE-FALLING THROUGH THE AIR) but I had bigger problems.

There was a mountain beneath me, and the rocks didn't look too friendly to fall on.

That wasn't the problem. I could just slow my descent even further.

The problem was that there were two gods right where my feet would land (I'm just going to go out on a limb here and assume [despite knowing that assuming made an ass out of you and me] that the second guy was a god).

You would be surprised at how oblivious men could be when they were arguing. Random girl in a bright pink dress holding a glowing scepter falling slowly from the sky? Psh, I could have been a freaking seagull for all they noticed.

Hell, I was sorely tempted to just start screaming random things and singing random commercial jingles ("Polka dots! Pink hippos! Platypuses in rainbow underwear!" _"I'm a goofy goober yeah~, You're a goofy goober yeah~!"_) just to see how far their unknowing-ness would stretch, but I decided that the most rational (since when did I go with most rational?) decision was to stay silent.

Anyway, it looked like the two of them were having an argument.

"...much dark energy did it take for Odin to summon you here?" Loki was sneering, getting up off the floor and dusting himself off. "Your precious earth."

Big, blonde and burly snarled and ran forward, dropping his hammer- _his hammer. _

_Oh gods. Literally. _I felt my mind explode. _This is _Thor. _Loki's adopted brother._

As I surveyed him, though, I wondered how stupid Asgardians could be to _not _realize that they _weren't _related. Thor was muscled and thick-set, with a strong jaw and bright golden hair. His eyes were sky-blue and wide and kind, and his skin was tanned by hours of sun. He was attractive in a _yeah, I know I'm hot _kind of way (the kind that I had always disliked).

Loki, on the other hand, was taller and leaner, lithe like a cat, with much paler skin and much darker hair. His profile was sharper, and his eyes were a different kind of blue- they burned with a type of flame that I couldn't decide if it belonged to a madman or a genius (probably both).

Like, seriously, were all Asgardians fighters with no brain at all? Thor was _obviously_ born to be a warrior- the familiarity with which he had held his hammer belonged to a master, and Loki was _obviously... _not. From the half hour in which I had known him, it was clear that he was a trickster, a cunning tactician, a strategist.

Thor's statement brought me back to the present. "I thought you dead."

Loki looked at him with cold eyes. "Did you mourn?"

"We all did." Sadness replaced the anger in Thor's eyes. "Our father-"

The younger prince held up a finger to cut him off. "_Your _father." He took a step away from his brother - or not brother.

Thor turned desperately towards his retreating figure. "We grew up together. We played together, we fought together!" He shouted after him. "Do you remember none of that?"

That made Loki stop, and he whirled around. I recognized an undertone of cold anger in his voice. "I remember a shadow. Living in the _shade _of your _greatness. _I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I _was_ and _should_ be king!"

His eyes shone with a wrathful sheen that I had never seen before.

But I saw something else. Something that I don't think Thor saw. _Longing._

With a pang, I realized it. What had driven him off the edge. I knew before that Loki had been misunderstood, but... this was... just plain _awful. _

It was the idea of always being overlooked. Of always being underestimated and ignored, forced to retreat to the shadows because your brother took up the entire limelight. Thor was just so perfect in every way- a warrior of amazing strength, impeccable values, and incredibly good-looking- that it was impossible to compare him to his scrawnier, shyer brother.

At first it must have killed him. To crave respect and kindness from other people but to never receive it.

But when he got older it must have festered into an obsession, a tumor of rage and hurt and jealousy that would have to burst sometime.

_He must have thought that, with his perfect brother to stare at, no one would ever even glance at him. _

The realization hurt my heart, hit me so hard in the feels that I felt like crying.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki." Thor immediately retorted. I sat there silently, listening, turning the words over in my head.

Loki laughed, a chilling sound that seemed to resonate for miles. "And you're doing a _marvelous_ job with that." He chuckled sarcastically. "The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret about your little mortal."

My lips refused to move and my voice didn't respond. Grandpa's leg wound from World War II. All those generals at the parties. Those war movies my Grandpa and I had watched.

But I had never really cared.

I had thought Grandpa's leg would get better, that those general's plans would never affect me in the slightest, that all those movies were just fiction.

"I mean to _rule_ them! And why should I not-?"

"You think yourself above them." Thor cut him off calmly.

A confused look spread over Loki's face. "Well, yes."

"Well, then what of the mortal girl?"

Loki immediately tensed, and I strained my ears to listen. His voice hardened. "What of her?"

"You taunt me for loving Jane, and yet..." Thor shook his head.

"_What_?" Loki's voice was getting dangerous.

"Do not think that you can deceive me in this matter, Loki. I have known you for all of your existence; you cannot hide it from me."

_"What is it?_"

"Is she not your lover?"

**Micarocks101: *tries to hold in laughter but fails miserably***

**MidnightShadow101: XD We imitated middle school boys with that last part.**

**Micarocks101: I keep telling MidnightShadow101 that the romance is too fast. :T Comment if you think it is or not. *holds Loki plushie doll over the edge of the Empire State Building* Or else...**

**MidnightShadow101: NUUUUUUUUU! MY SEMPAI! ;o;**


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